08 September 2008

If I were athletic

If I were athletic I think I'd like to be like Serena Williams. She's an incredibly talented player who clearly takes her game seriously, but she also knows herself so well. I've watched her play for years now and I can usually tell what kind of match it will be just by looking at her.

Watching her play last night I knew by the second game of the first set that she was going to win. How did I know? you may ask. Well even if you didn't I am going to tell you anyway.

There was this moment right after a somewhat tricky rally that had each player running hard. It was just a tiny, tiny moment. Serena won the point and just after she saw that she won it, she looked down at her hand to check her manicure. It is an unmistakable gesture so I know that is what she was doing. It was as if she wasn't even worried about that last point and she was so relaxed and ready for the next point that she didn't have to worry about that either. She knew she had this.

To be fair Jelena Jankovic played a strong match and Serena did not trample her, but there was never a moment where I felt that Serena thought she wouldn't win. That manicure check moment was just awe-inspiring to me.

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